deciphering locality pay schedule

Specialties Government

Published

Specializes in Float Pool, ICU/CCU, Med/Surg, Onc, Tele.

I have before me the local pay schedule for the VA. Not wanting to call up and ask stupid questions before I get hired (lol), I thought I'd ask y'all somewhat anonymously. All help appreciated.

What are the differences between "Nurse I", "Nurse II", etc through "Nurse V"?

What is a "PSI"? It ranges from PSI=1120 @ top of page (lowest salary range, Nurse I level 1) to PSI=2481 @ bottom of page (Nurse V, Level 1) where the highest salaries are.

What are the "levels"? It looks like there are 3 different levels. And what are the differences between "levels" and "steps" - of which there are 12 per category (Nurse I - Nurse V).

At my old state job, we automatically advanced up a step for each year of employment - but topped out at 8 steps. There was no tie to performance or qualification, you just automatically bumped to the next step on your hire date, with a small increase in pay each step. Is that how the VA / federal jobs work?

I can figure out by the salary ranges that there must be some correlation between qualifications and where you fall on the "Nurse I - Nurse V" level, but these ranges don't appear to be sufficient salary for CRNA's or NP's - so does anyone know what the qualifications are to advance "down" the page into the higher salaries?

Thanks so much!

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